India women’s team cricketer Sajana Sajeevan recalled tough times at the start of her career when she played cricket for the sake of money. Hailing from Kerala, the all-rounder made her senior women’s debut earlier in 2024 after a string of impressive performances for India in the Challenger’s Cup and in domestic tourney prior to that. Sajana has played 11 WT20Is so far and has scored 34 runs while not opening her account yet in terms of wickets.
Sajana Sajeevan recounts early struggles before India debut
Speaking to InsideSport in an exclusive interview, Sajana Sajeevan revealed that she started playing cricket at domestic level to help her family financially. He recollected the tough times when they were allowed just Rs 150 as allowance per day and Rs 1000 per week and show he thrived to give that money to her parents. Hailing from Wayanad, Kerala, Sajana’s rise to fame is nothing short of inspiration.
“I started playing cricket in the beginning to earn money. My financial situation was bad that time. I was not planning to reach next level. Playing for district, at least we used to get Rs 1000 for a week. That meant a lot to me. At the start, my allowance per day was Rs 150. I started earning money from cricket and gave money to my parents and they were happy. That is how I was motivated to play cricket,” Sajana Sajeevan told InsideSport.
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Sajana’s WPL heroics
Sajana’s rise to fame began in the WPL 2024 auction, where Mumbai Indians acquired her for INR 15 lakh. She wasted no time in announcing her arrival on the big stage, delivering a match-winning performance in the opening clash against Delhi Capitals (DC).
With MI needing 12 runs off the last over to win, the situation looked bleak. The dismissal of skipper Harmanpreet Kaur on the penultimate ball made things even tougher, leaving MI needing 6 runs from the final ball. Delhi Capitals, with Alice Capsey taking two wickets earlier, must have felt confident of victory. However, Sajana had other plans. In a moment of brilliance, she launched a mighty six off the very first ball of the final over, etching her name in history as the first woman cricketer to win a T20 chase on the last ball with a first-ball six.
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"Started playing cricket for money": Sajana Sajeevan sheds light on turning point that propelled her to India debut
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